Day after Hamas attacks on Israel Omar was worried that Margaret, his boss, would not extend his leave of absence. He wrote to her: “I have a return ticket for October 8, but they cancelled the flight.”
Margaret was surprised: “Do you have the net there?” He said yes. He said he was fine. His neighbour has solar panels on the roof and thanks to him, Omar's full household can charge their phones. This war will be over soon, but he will request a fewer more days off.
Two weeks later Margaret only wrote, “Are you safe?” Omar sent her pictures of the debris. He briefly informed: “We are moving distant again”. The blast broke all the windows. Omar didn't believe anyone would get him out of there. After all, he only had 1 passport: Palestinian.
At night Margaret put the children to sleep in her Krakow flat and nervously checked whether Omar's name was on the evacuation lists. She was on the line with the Polish branch of IBM, embassy staff in Tel Aviv and Cairo, and even respective Polish MPs. Everyone wanted to save Omar.
"We'll effort to get you out of there"
When the bombs fall around, it doesn't make sense to run. The food will consume you or spare you. The component knows no justice, kills blindly. Omar says the same thing about the Israeli army.
He came to Poland for the first time in 2019, as a scholarship holder of the NAWA program. It enables abroad students to proceed studying at Polish universities. While inactive studying at the University of Technology in Poznań, Omar began working at IBM as an accountant. After college he moved permanently to Krakow. He wouldn't go back to Gaza. erstwhile he thought of her, he saw the house, but besides the prison, separated by a wall from the remainder of the world. He left a large household there: a diabetic father, mother, duplicate brother – Ali, younger brother of Asaad and 5 sisters. too Asaad, they all have families.
Omar seldom visited his parents' house. The journey to Gaza is far and complicated. A individual with a Palestinian passport must go through Cairo. However, in the fall of 2023 Ali was married. Omar felt he had to be there.
He entered Gaza on September 24. With the remainder of their siblings, they had time to prepare food for the wedding party. They planned to celebrate for 3 or 4 days. On the night of 6 to 7 September, Omar was able to travel with Ali to the city of Gaza to buy any fresh clothes. They had a good time hanging around town for hours. This was expected to be Ali's last bachelor party. But the wedding never happened. On October 7, no 1 celebrated at Omar's house. The first Israeli bombs struck the surrounding mosque 2 or 3 days after Hamas' slaughter.
On October 13, the Israeli authorities ordered residents of northern Gaza to evacuate. Omar's household moved south. Like thousands of another internally displaced people, they hit the vicinity of the city of Chan Junus, which was to be a safe haven for civilians from the north.
There's not much left of this marina. On February 10, CNN, under strict control of Israeli military personnel, described her as saying: “Many buildings were completely destroyed, and the debris was taken out by bulldozers. [...] any look like ruins of medieval castles – lonely walls with holes in the place where there utilized to be windows. The harm is seen on the crossing. In any areas of the road are covered with rubble [...]’. During this “trip” reporters could see entrances to Hamas tunnels hidden under the city. Israel claims that this is where the militants planned the attack of October 7.
In mid-October, Omar sent his boss a message: “We are all targets, not just Hamas”. She replied: “We will effort to get you out.”
On February 25, connected to Hamas, the Ministry of wellness in Palestine reported that 30 000 inhabitants had lost their lives in this war so far. It is not known how many Hamas fighters are among the victims. Israel claims that more than 9,000 were killed, but does not supply any evidence.
When the first bombs fell, Omar decided to stay. He'll die with the remainder of his family. Ali pulled him aside and ordered: “If it works, go.” He came home all day from the infirmary covered in blood. He's a doctor, works in the infirmary emergency department. Omar at the beginning of the war asked him, “How was it?”. Ali replied: “What do you want to hear? That I see a dead body without a head? Wounded hands, legs? Crushed by body debris? That we don't have drugs? Places to operate people?’ He was annoyed, so Omar stopped asking.
Unread
On October 15, Margaret wrote her first email to the embassy in Tel Aviv. She presented the situation: she is simply a squad leader in the IBM corporation, and her subordinate, Omar Albhaisi, is presently in Gaza. There is no Polish citizenship, but he has been surviving in the country for 5 years. He has friends here, he's a dedicated and loyal employee. Kind, kind, a small shy, helpful, liked. He has an indeterminate contract. At the same time, another subordinate of Margaret, Yasemin of Turkey, wrote to the Polish embassy in Egypt, to which evacuations were to take place. There was quite a few confusion at first. Officials in Israel informed the media that evacuation letters would inactive gotta wait. Margaret was afraid she wouldn't get anywhere. Only people with a Western passport get the right to flee.
She didn't give up. She's active with her corporate managers. respective people wrote emails and called their friends, seeking direct contact with individual employed in diplomatic missions in Egypt or Israel. Finally, she received a reply: a Polish diplomatic authoritative from Tel Aviv informed that further letters would appear. We must wait and check the channels of the Palestinian Migration Office. On November 15 evening, he sent an email stating that Omar's name had appeared on a new, yet unpublished, authoritative list. I want him evacuated the next day. He must only – or until – scope the Rafah border crossing.
Margaret immediately let Omar know: get ready, you must scope the border tomorrow. He took his time. He was waiting for the authoritative publication of the list online. “If I am to hazard my life, I must be certain that my name is there,” said Margaret. The bombings continued. The closer the border crossing, the more. The names of the evacuated were published regular between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. on Facebook. However, no fresh list appeared on the morning of November 16. Margaret, refreshing the page on her computer, nervously biting her lips. She was no longer in contact with Omar – at night Gaza was cut off by Israel from contact with the world. Margaret had no thought whether Omar believed her to be on the list or to wait. The last messages she sent him were "unread".
“They bomb us, I'll call you later“
They have black hair and lush, dark eyebrows. They are the same tallness and akin posture. They both got a higher education. 1 became a doctor, the another graduated from the university.
They are the same and feel the same – Omar says. He's not isolated in that opinion. Even scientists admit that the emotional bond between twins is usually stronger than between siblings born at different times. possibly that's why Omar's been itching so much lately. It's an eczema, he got her from stress. Only whose?
They're the same, but they're looking at different paintings now.
Omar sees white walls in his Krakow apartment. Outside the window – leafless trees. Ali sees death.
November 16, 2023 Omar woke up from a restless sleep and immediately looked on the phone. He didn't have the Internet, nor did the remainder of Gaza. The day before, he got word from Margaret that he was on the evacuation list. His friend had a car. Despite the large hazard he promised to take Omar to Rafah. They left before noon. The road was passable, in the distance they heard explosions. They were passing the rubble of homes. They said good-bye at the entrance. On November 17, Omar was already in Cairo. At the airport there was a smiling Polish consultant waiting for him. She brought a white-red flag with her. She developed it, and Omar stood next to it. individual took a image of them. Omar then sent Gretel a message: he's here, safe. Now all he has to do is fly to Krakow.
Omar's friend, who was driving him to the border, returned safely to Dajr al-Balah.
In December Omar invited Gosia, Jasmina and respective another friends from the company to his home for dinner. He was as usual: quiet, polite, polite. He just looked different. During these nearly 60 days spent in Gaza, he lost half his body weight. He cut his hair short due to the eczema.
When he spoke to his duplicate brother on the telephone in mid-February, he heard explosions in the background. "They bomb us, I'll call you later," said Ali and hung up. He called me back erstwhile it was over. Omar, touching his head, says: I feel what he feels. His helplessness and despair.
Their sick father's condition has gotten worse recently. So what if he and his household live 2 steps from the infirmary where his boy works – no 1 will accept him there. There's no room. There are more pressing cases.
“Is everyone alive?”
In the first weeks after his return to Poland, Omar clogged his ears, proceeding the sound of the doors being opened, the sound of the door closing, the telephone ring, falling on the level objects. Everything sounded like an explosion.
He decided not to read the news from Gaza. If he did, he'd be crazy. all day he looks forward to a message from his brother. He's the only 1 in the household who has net access sometimes. Omar doesn't ask him what happened in the hospital. He doesn't even ask how he's doing. The only question he has given himself is, "Are all alive?" Ali's answer leaves him alone for a few, respective hours. Then number the minutes to the next telephone call, the next message. She's worried about her parents due to the fact that they're both sick, and the situation with access to drugs is dramatic. He's worried about Asaad, the youngest of his siblings. The boy is 17 years old and like older brothers he is very capable. He's a large student. He dreams about college.
The worst news so far came on 22 November, just after Omar's return to Poland. A 100 Palestinians and Palestinians died that day in Gaza. More than half of the victims – 52 people – came from 1 family. "Three generations were erased in 1 bombing, from grandparents to grandchildren," commented Palestinian Minister of abroad Affairs Riyad al-Maliki during his visit to London. 1 of those 52 people was Omar's best friend. The attack was widely reported by Western media, including correspondents for the Guardian diary in Jerusalem.
Margaret reads the news from Gaza. erstwhile it froze in front of the computer, due to the fact that in an article about the bombing victims, she saw Omar's brother's name. After a while, she released air from her lungs. The doctor who died was a akin name.
Gosia besides thinks about Asaad. What does a teenager feel like watching bodies lying on the streets alternatively of stupid on his cell phone? Who, alternatively of moving around with his buddies behind the ball, runs from bombs? She talked to Omar about it many times. It was from him that she learned that there might be an option for Asaad to flee Gaza. Hal's Egyptian company offers desperate Palestinians the chance to buy a passage across the border. This service already existed before the war – at that time the payment of $300 allowed Palestinian citizens to bypass long queues on the border with Egypt. After October 7, Hala raised prices.
The investigation in this case was carried out by Sky News television, which determined that carrying an adult across the border, having only a Palestinian passport, already cost $5,000. Officially, the Egyptian government opposes preying on human desperation, but anonymous informants say plainly: this frontier would not be possible without the cognition and control of the Egyptian authorities, possibly acting in cooperation with Israel. Hal's "services" are now the only way out of Gaza for those who do not have dual citizenship. Hundreds of Palestinian families separated by war rise money on crowdfunding portals to bring their loved ones from Gaza.
Margaret besides – for Asaad. He can't halt reasoning about him. He imagines what his stay in Poland will look like: erstwhile he arrives, they will give him a fewer months to regenerate. He'll live with his brother, he'll know the country, he'll heal the wounds, especially the ones on the psyche. He'll halt being scared. Then they'll think about his education. For now, the drop stands still, we managed to collect little than PLN 5,000.
Omar wants to believe that Asaad is only here for a moment. And he will return to Gaza as shortly as this war is over.
**
Anna Kierzynek – journalist, reporter. Winner of the second European Press Prize 2022 for suicide crisis material among veterinarians. She published, among others, in “Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Newsweek”, “Popular Week” and the monthly magazine “Write”. Winner of the Grand Prix of the Gdynia delicate Festival and winner of the Milena Jesenska journalistic scholarship awarded by the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. In 2021, she was nominated for the Grand Press award in the press/internet coverage category.
